PreEmptive Strike 0.1 has grown by leaps and bounds from their power noise beginnings to their new EBM flavored industrial sound. One of the fun things about this record is the theme that comes through solidly from the speakers; this is an album about the coming apocalypse and the demise of our world as we know it. Samples from old sci-fi movies and even a sample from Bryan Singer’s X-Men get used to illustrate the themes and bring it all the more home for the listener – imagine Leæther Strip meets The Day the Earth Stood Still. It’s a good thing the samples are there because it’s hard to tell what is being said in the vocals. As is often with this genre and about 90% of what is released on the Alfa Matrix label, the vocals are so distorted and processed that it’s hard to tell what is actually being said.

Another thing that makes this record an enjoyable listening experience is some of the guests. EX-ES brings in a clean vocal on “Robotic Disintegrator” that is welcome and breaks up the constant harsh noise of the track; a touch that refreshes the ears. The track “Al Azif” is a brilliant segue into the Arabic-inspired female vocals on the follow-up track “Proteus Prayers,” the Eastern melody in the vocals standing out as an overall high point on this entire record. Another point of interest is the production on this record with layers upon layers of sound happening. On the track “Kriegserklairuag 1955,” the samples pan between the left and right channels, giving the listener something to find in the mix to move beyond the chaos and noise. It really breaks up the song and gives the listener little nuggets of treasures in each song. Simply putting this record on and doing something else steals a bit of the experience away from the overall feel.

The two misfires, though, are this. In this genre, it seems to this writer like every album is at least two songs too long. Perhaps if they would have ended the album around the nine or 10 song mark, the listener wouldn’t suffer from fatigue from the pounding rhythms and harsh noise throughout the runtime. Not only that, but the last four songs are remixes that might have been better served working as bonus material or perhaps as part of a digital single. This is especially since the remix by DYM is really the only one that stands out and brings anything new to the table for the listener, the other three simply rehashing what has already been done while bringing minimal changes to the original concept.

With those two minor issues out of the way though, PreEmptive Strike 0.1 has delivered a solid record in the genre that is just different enough to keep them fresh but doesn’t stray too far away from convention to exclude any of their fans from previous releases. It’s a good place to start and a nice record to pick up if you’re looking for something new.

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